Qatar Denies Violating Labor Law by Blocking Migrants From Leaving

FILE- In this photo taken during a government-organized media tour, an official makes a point using a scale model of the Al-Wakra Stadium, to be used during the 2022 World Cup, in Doha, Qatar, May 4, 2015.

Qatar on Thursday denied it was violating a new labor law by blocking migrants from leaving the country, saying it was committed to enforcing reforms to improve the rights of millions of foreign workers.

A new law making it easier for migrants to change jobs and leave the oil-rich Gulf state — where many of them have been recruited to build soccer stadiums ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup — came into effect in December.

But rights groups say the new law is not being enforced and that scores of migrant workers from countries such as India, Bangladesh and Nepal have been refused permission to leave the country since the law was passed.

The Qatari government said in a statement that any suggestion it was not committed to enforcing the reforms or that it was denying the freedom of movement of foreign workers was "false."

Around 90 percent of Qatar's 2.5 million population are migrants. Many work in low-paid construction jobs to build stadiums and infrastructure for the World Cup competition.

But Doha's "kafala" sponsorship system — under which migrants cannot change jobs or leave the country without their employer's permission — has come under scrutiny in recent years, with allegations that the system amounts to forced labor.

Law on permits

Qatar passed a law December 13 that scrapped the need for migrants to get exit permits from employers and imposed fines on employers who confiscated workers' passports and withheld their salaries.

But trade unionists say migrants still require an exit permit from the government — and that more than 200 migrants have been blocked from leaving Qatar since the law was passed.

The Qatari government confirmed that 213 out of 184,551 requests for exit permits had been denied, but said this was because the individuals were facing criminal charges.

"We have explicitly stated that expatriates would be prevented from leaving Qatar if there is strong evidence that the expatriate has committed fraud or is attempting to evade prosecution for a crime," the government statement said.

The International Labor Organization has given Doha until November to implement the reforms or potentially face an investigation into the forced labor of migrants in the lead-up to hosting the World Cup.